50/30/20 questions

ourmaybebe

I was seen by a nutritionist who put me on a 50%carb/30%protein/20%fat diet. I was told to eat every four hours following a very specific diet that was made fitting this breakdown. Does anyone know if the 50/30/20 has to be for the day or each meal to work? I am often hungry before my next meal is due and spent a few days following the %'s just not the diet plan or time spacing between meals and still lost weight. I was wondering if any of you out there follow this diet as well and have variety and eat when hungry or if you stick to the same few meals and rigid times for eating.

TimothyFish

I'm sure that daily is more than sufficient. It takes two days for food to digest completely, so any smaller period than that isn't likely to make much difference.

segacs

A few questions:
1. Was this nutritionist a registered dietitian referred by a physician? Or some other type of nutritionist?
2. What is the reason for this strict a meal plan? Nothing your nutritionist suggested is bad advice; I'm just wondering whether you have a specific reason for trying to follow such a strict diet and food schedule?
3. Do you have any medical conditions that are the reason for this food plan?

50/30/20 *can* be a fine breakdown for macros. Without knowing your height/weight/age/total calories/goals, it's hard to say. In general, most reasonably balanced macro breakdowns are fine, though.

Also, for the most part, it's fine to aim to meet these targets daily or even weekly, not necessarily within every meal. Though many experts suggest that, if you feel hungry all the time, you try to have at least some protein and some healthy fat with each meal, which will keep you feeling satiated longer.

AZTallguy

In doing my own research, I used a number of the online calculators to determine my macros and they are roughly the same to the 50/30/20. I think you'd drive yourself crazy trying to calculate for every meal. I just log everyday and see what works with what to balance things out.

obscuremusicreference

ourmaybebe wrote: »

I was seen by a nutritionist who put me on a 50%carb/30%protein/20%fat diet. I was told to eat every four hours following a very specific diet that was made fitting this breakdown. Does anyone know if the 50/30/20 has to be for the day or each meal to work? I am often hungry before my next meal is due and spent a few days following the %'s just not the diet plan or time spacing between meals and still lost weight. I was wondering if any of you out there follow this diet as well and have variety and eat when hungry or if you stick to the same few meals and rigid times for eating.

Well, fats and protein are good for satiety. I don't know why your nutritionist chose these macros, which are perfectly fine, but this might be why you feel hungry again soon.

ourmaybebe

TimothyFish wrote: »

I'm sure that daily is more than sufficient. It takes two days for food to digest completely, so any smaller period than that isn't likely to make much difference.

Thank you for this information. I felt like I was over thinking a bit...

segacs wrote: »

A few questions:
1. Was this nutritionist a registered dietitian referred by a physician? Or some other type of nutritionist?
2. What is the reason for this strict a meal plan? Nothing your nutritionist suggested is bad advice; I'm just wondering whether you have a specific reason for trying to follow such a strict diet and food schedule?
3. Do you have any medical conditions that are the reason for this food plan?

50/30/20 *can* be a fine breakdown for macros. Without knowing your height/weight/age/total calories/goals, it's hard to say. In general, most reasonably balanced macro breakdowns are fine, though.

Also, for the most part, it's fine to aim to meet these targets daily or even weekly, not necessarily within every meal. Though many experts suggest that, if you feel hungry all the time, you try to have at least some protein and some healthy fat with each meal, which will keep you feeling satiated longer.

ourmaybebe

I was put on this diet to lose over around 35 pounds

ourmaybebe

You are right it feels nuts trying to be so exact.

segacs

Well, if it's just for weight loss, and not for any medical conditions (e.g. diabetes), then you're probably going to be just fine doing what everyone else does on MFP, more or less. Just set your calorie goal for a reasonable deficit, try to get a good balance in your macros on a weekly basis, and adjust based on real-world results.